GOD, RELIGION and THE UNIVERSE
Dr. T. Rama Prasad
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/god-religion-universe_29.html
“Free man is by necessity insecure, thinking man is by necessity uncertain.” --- Eric Fronam
How true ! Apply this quote to religion. One outside the religion, free of belief, may feel insecure. One who rationally thinks about religion may be uncertain. This may be the reason why most of the people are believers. Many (or, most ?) of the 'believers' pray to seek favours for themselves, not for people in the world. This is not true selfless devotion. For the many pseudo-devotees, money is the main motivational factor, service may only be the last. Service to humanity is service to God. Many turn to God when adversity strikes, and some forget God when fortune shines on them.
An idea about the periods of existence of various things may put one in a perspective of thinking on this subject.
'Age' of the Sun -- 4.54 billion years. Expected lifespan. -- 7 billion years more
'Age' of the Earth -- 4.54 billion years. Expected lifespan -- 1 billion years more
'Age' of Himalayas -- 50 million years
'Age' of Humans. -- 3 lakh years
'Age' of Religions -- 3 thousand years or more
'Age' of Temples. -- 3 thousand years
'Number' of gods and goddesses -- more than 300 million
'Age' of the Universe -- inestimable
According to the available scientific evidence, religious practices have been in existence since a short period of only a few thousands of years, considering the period of existence of humans of around 3 lakh years. This timeline is important in thinking about god and religion. Broadly there are 4 lines of the thinking about 'God'. 1. THEISM -- belief in the existence of a God or Gods, specifically of a creator who intervenes in the universe. 2. ATHEISM -- belief that God does not exist. 3. AGNOSTICISM -- belief that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God. 4. DEISM - belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe.
Before reading further just have a look into this excerpt written in the context of the monumental corona crisis -- June 21, 2020 -- full text:
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2017/04/corona-and-charles-darwin.html
https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov.html
" ... Now, we remember GOD.
Of late, after fighting for more than a year, some of the corona fighting leaders and even scientists across the world expressed their helplessness saying: "God only can help contain corona." You have just read what Charles Darwin wrote from his grave about our corona struggle. Now read what was written about him and god long long ago -- here is an excerpt from a writing about him:
" ..Though reticent about his religious views, in 1879 he wrote that "I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God. – I think that generally ... an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind".[95][190]
His statements on religion (Barlow 1958) suggest that he was a deist, like many cultured Englishmen of his time (Wilson 2002) and the American founding fathers (Holmes 2006). That is, he accepted the presence of some kind of Creator, but avoided the words Christ, Savior, or Redeemer.
The "Lady Hope Story", published in 1915, claimed that Darwin had reverted to Christianity on his sickbed. The claims were repudiated by Darwin's children and have been dismissed as false by historians.[192] ... "
The renowned New York-based physicist opens up a debate as to whether we are all living in a well-designed matrix of universe created by a "universal external agency" which the faithful like to call God. While citing 'primitive semi-radius tachyons and theoretical particles, he adds, "god is a mathematician, and the mind of god is cosmic music, the music of strings resonating through 11-dimensional hyperspace." One wonders then as to whether there is a need to prove the physical presence of gods when the gods themselves are metaphysical.
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It might be considered presumptuous if I (T. Rama Prasad) write on God, religion and universe. I write this with trepidation and certain gumption as the subject is a sensitive one about which I know very little. These are only random thoughts. There is a huge potential for being misunderstood. I am putting forth some observations (not analysis, not judgment) and some points of view from others, from a low parochial platform of a layman who has only a smattering of knowledge about this subject. All this may look absurd, immature and telescopic to those at a high spiritual platform.
Don’t get me wrong. I am trying only to provoke thinking, not to pontificate. I am not judgmental and my personal views are reserved. Before 'scribbling' on this subject, I would like to be VERY CLEAR that I have no intention of hurting the religious sentiments of anybody. I am just a NEUTRAL observer who has not gone beyond the horizon to have a look into spirituality.
And, it should be remembered that god and religion is a matter of belief and hence is not at all debatable. So long as it doesn't harm anybody, one is always right in believing and practising one's own religion. We need to ruminate on this subject. Though I dealt with the subject in general, many citations may be related to India where Hindus constitute 80 per cent of the population. And, importantly, a good majority of the population across the world are believers.
Don’t get me wrong. I am trying only to provoke thinking, not to pontificate. I am not judgmental and my personal views are reserved. Before 'scribbling' on this subject, I would like to be VERY CLEAR that I have no intention of hurting the religious sentiments of anybody. I am just a NEUTRAL observer who has not gone beyond the horizon to have a look into spirituality.
And, it should be remembered that god and religion is a matter of belief and hence is not at all debatable. So long as it doesn't harm anybody, one is always right in believing and practising one's own religion. We need to ruminate on this subject. Though I dealt with the subject in general, many citations may be related to India where Hindus constitute 80 per cent of the population. And, importantly, a good majority of the population across the world are believers.
"Believers may please believe that God helps those who help others without expecting favours, and that God favours first those who pray without seeking favours ." -- T. Rama Prasad
Beliefs, religion and gods seem to have a lasting and vital role in moulding the society’s culture, content and complexion, notwithstanding the hard core atheism, rationalism, scientific scrutiny and secularism. There are harmless beliefs and also are there religious fanatics, with religious indoctrination, who believe that if they kill their religious opponents, they will go to heaven. “Religion is an outcome of beliefs and heritage, which are strongly related to history and folklore that are influenced by environment, education, and interaction between people. Based on this definition, there is no wonder that views are different from one to another religion which is part of human culture” (Raphael & Botros, textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques). Add to this, the entry of politicians, judiciary and societal police to decide what should not be worn, what should not be shown, what should not be eaten etc. on religious and cultural grounds. Esoteric philosophical debates would go on.
And, it is important to note that belief in god may be different from belief in deities, temples, rituals and religious customs which are manmade -- one may believe in god but not the other things connected to god.
And, it is important to note that belief in god may be different from belief in deities, temples, rituals and religious customs which are manmade -- one may believe in god but not the other things connected to god.
RELIGIOUS ANIMOSITY
I would not have written anything on this subject but for the media buzz that has been going on in connection with various happenings related to faith across the globe in recent times. I think I need not elaborate as they are widely known. The happenings are due to clashes between different religions and communities in the world having different faiths and different gods. Lampooning, intelligent or trashy, goes viral instantly stirring up emotions. This is exemplified by the film “Innocence of Muslims” and the “Satanic Verses” of Rushdie. Of late, the incidents of merciless killing of one’s neighbour just for the reason that he or she belongs to another religion are acutely and shockingly increasing through instigation by invoking God.
There is a dire need to have a very high bar when it comes to get offended due to intolerance. Every trivial thing seems to provoke a huge unwarranted reaction which means that some wrong evolution is taking place. Apart from religious diversity, there simmer various parochial bigotries – of regions, countries, communities, caste, class, language and politics. “In no democracy is religion as politicised as in India” is the opening sentence of an article (TNSE, 19 July, 2015 -- http://www.newindianexpress.com/columns/t_j_s_george/Iftar-Parties-How-Politics-Takes-Over-Religion-How-Some-Ministers-Turn-To-Hypocrisy/2015/07/19/article2927708.ece ). Society is like a mirror. It reflects whatever is in front of it. If one smiles, it smiles. If one frowns, it frowns. If one attacks, it attacks, both being losers.
This news in The New Indian Express of today (16-4-2024) is the most welcome one in these days of communal clashes and the wars between countries. This reminds me of the following quote (from Abdul Kalam). This is the simplest way for the survival and prosperity of the human race. -- Dr. T. Rama Prasad, Perundurai
The following is a reprint from the FACEBOOK:
"PAROCHIAL TRENDS in religion ... Dec 25, 2017
In view of a threat to schools in a city against celebrating Christmas, The Central Government issued a circular to all the States to ensure law and order during Christmas (2017). As a nation, in general, we are known to be very tolerant. Any festival, whether it is Christmas, Ramzan, Holi or Deepavali should e enjoyed by all ... people of other religions are our friends.
"Love your religion ... respect other religions (even atheism) ... if not, at least, tolerate them ... but never hate them ... love is in every religion ... yet love has no religion." -- Dr. T. Rama Prasad. For my more detailed comment, you may click on the following link: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.in/…/god-religion-universe.ht…
"Love your religion ... respect other religions (even atheism) ... if not, at least, tolerate them ... but never hate them ... love is in every religion ... yet love has no religion." -- Dr. T. Rama Prasad. For my more detailed comment, you may click on the following link: http://drtramaprasad.blogspot.in/…/god-religion-universe.ht…
MERRY CHRISTMAS
T. Rama Prasad."
INTER-FAITH DIALOGUE
We, human beings are adept in creating divisions and infighting, though all religions preach the same thing -- ‘be good human beings’. It is curious to see the same number (6) of alphabets in TEMPLE, CHURCH and MOSQUE; and the samenumber (5) of alphabets in GEETA, BIBLE and QURAN !! Even the letters are in harmony, why not we ? There wouldn’t be any problems, if one is not only tolerant but also respectful to other faiths. If not, why not we have a ‘fraternity of faiths’ ? A coalition or one faith -- a universal one, by looking beyond the artificially created glass ceilings of various spheres and faiths. And, there may not be fights on this issue within the planet.
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, known as “Missile Man” of India, held bombs and missiles in one hand and 'Gita' and 'namaz'' in the other, with no sense of incongruity. A legendary scientist with profound knowledge and firm conviction, he was an embodiment of eclecticism of India's heritage of diversity - a complete Indian and more than anything else a simple and true good human being. After lighting a ‘deepam’ at a ceremony, he said something like this: "A 'Muslim Kalam' lighted a 'Hindu Kuthuvizhakku' with a 'Christian candle' !"  |
| A 'Muslim Kalam' lighted a 'Hindu Kuttuvizhakku' with a 'Christian candle'. |
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| Even this 'Bhagavadgeeta' book created controversy ! |
In the words of Lymon Abbott “God didn’t speak only in Palestine, remaining dumb elsewhere.” He manifested Himself at different periods of time through Krishna, Jesus Christ, Allah, Buddha, Zoroaster, Lao Tse, Mahavir, Guru Nanak et al. If one views this in a pluralistic perspective, the social tensions, racial bitterness and communal violence would be a thing of the past and the concept of oneness of existence would be accepted. It is imperative that the praxis of harmony between various holy religions needs to be based on inter-faith dialogue and the concept of oneness.
The temple in the photo is a 225-year-old one near Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, believed to be constructed by a muslim soldier from Tippu Sultan’s army with unique architectural combination of a ‘Hindu’ style sanctum sanctorum and a ‘Muslim’ style structure on the ‘gopuram’ which stands testimony to communal harmony (http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/an-old-temple-stands-testimony-to-communal-harmony/article7807855.ece ).
I visited this remarkably magnificent mosque in MALAYSIA (Masjid Putra Mosque). Below: Rajyalakshmi and Nirmala in the dress provided to enter the mosque.
I was inside this monumental church of gargantuan proportions and impressive architectural design in KANYAKUMARI.
I was at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in SINGAPORE, and also at Sri Sempaga Vinayagar Temple in SINGAPORE (you can see a board there in the photo stating: "This place of holiness is for people of all religion and races ... Everyone is deemed to be Hindu.")
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| We were at the world's tallest statue of MURUGAN at the Murugan Temple, outside Batu Caves, in MALAYSIA (140 feet) in 2019 . |
Now, in 2023, the India's Murugan statue is the world's tallest one
When I visit places of worship of various religions, I study the behaviour patterns of the visitors, attitude spectrum of the staff there, prevailing monetary systems at the shrines and the architectural excellence of those days when there were no lorries, no earthmoving machines and no mighty cranes.
ONE GOD FOR ALL
All the bad things would not have happened if there is only one God for the entire world. It may be too utopian, in these days of excessive balkanisation of religion, creed, caste and class, to think of a change to one god. And it may as well end up in one more god and one more religion ! People worship many gods across the world according to their faith. There are numerous gods in the Hindureligion itself -- some pray to several gods just as some of our doctors prescribe several antibiotics at the same time thinking that one or the other would benefit ! Majority of the people in the world believe that their God, according to their religion, created and runs the universe and life. How come that so many gods of so many religions created and running the same single common universe and the life in it ? If it is one god, it is fine. But monotheism is not universally accepted.
Sree Narayana Guru’s great message: “One caste, One religion and One God for all humanity.”
Rabindranath Tagore said: “Our mind has faculties which are universal but its habits are insular.”
And, Sigmund Freud called religion as the neurosis of humanity !
BELIEF and FAITH
About 80% of the world's population (6.9 billion) follow one of the 4 principal groups -- (1) Christianity; 31% of the world's population - 2.3 billion. (2) Islamic - 1.8 billion. (3) Unaffiliated -1.2 billion - it includes those with no religious affiliation, secular, agnostic, atheists, humanists, etc. (4) Hinduism - 900 million ( according to Pew Research Center - worldreligionnews.com ). The diversity opens the gates for for conflicts. Religious strifes have always been part of human history. Religion had been an excellent tool for power and politics.
People's mind is conditioned to exist in groups which give a feeling of security. This forms the foundation for belief systems. An accumulated store of thoughts, experiences, passion, will and emotions are the core ingredients of the belief systems. The systems evolved in various forms according to religious, economic, social and political situations from time to time. The psychological security and the group support breeds attachment and later on dependency, especially as the future is filled with uncertainty and vicissitude for anybody on this earth. The belief system promotes faith without which one feels isolated and helpless. The belief and faith are so strong that when they are questioned or challenged the reaction may be violent and disastrous. The world has seen a lot of it in recent times.
GOD, THE ABSTRACT PHENOMENON
About 80% of the world's population (6.9 billion) follow one of the 4 principal groups -- (1) Christianity; 31% of the world's population - 2.3 billion. (2) Islamic - 1.8 billion. (3) Unaffiliated -1.2 billion - it includes those with no religious affiliation, secular, agnostic, atheists, humanists, etc. (4) Hinduism - 900 million ( according to Pew Research Center - worldreligionnews.com ). The diversity opens the gates for for conflicts. Religious strifes have always been part of human history. Religion had been an excellent tool for power and politics.
People's mind is conditioned to exist in groups which give a feeling of security. This forms the foundation for belief systems. An accumulated store of thoughts, experiences, passion, will and emotions are the core ingredients of the belief systems. The systems evolved in various forms according to religious, economic, social and political situations from time to time. The psychological security and the group support breeds attachment and later on dependency, especially as the future is filled with uncertainty and vicissitude for anybody on this earth. The belief system promotes faith without which one feels isolated and helpless. The belief and faith are so strong that when they are questioned or challenged the reaction may be violent and disastrous. The world has seen a lot of it in recent times.
GOD, THE ABSTRACT PHENOMENON
‘God and religion’ is the only subject about which so much is discussed and debated with voluminous and ill-understood vocabulary, oratory and rhetoric, and yet at the end of which we return to the point where we started. For an ordinary person, writings on spiritualism and god seem to contain words that are hidden in oblique language that needs unravelling, like the words of Nostradamus. The subject can’t be explained in ‘plain’ verse and the object can’t be seen by the ‘plain’ eye. God is an abstract phenomenon. Faith is an abstract feeling. People generally think both are the same. Different people have different perceptions on this subject. It is a conundrum.
How many of us understand the expressions like “universal consciousness”, “omnipotent subatomic energy”, “matter-matter and matter-energy interactions”, “spiritual deliverance”, "Nirvana", etc.? Like thinking mind, God may be an abstract phenomenon. It is said that this "Supreme Natural Phenomenon" may be called by any name -- God, Nature, Supernatural power, Environment, Supreme Being, ‘Superconsciousness’, Creator of geo-biological phenomena or whatever. Some are of the view that this supreme power is the one that is to be worshiped, if at all. For example, read the following: "God, the absolute is unborn and without beginning. As against this, the world is relative, for it is dependent upon god not only for its existence but also for its sustenance. The absolute thus is independent, while the relative is dependent." What does it mean to the common man ? A non-believer may say: "God is dependent upon man not only for his existence but also for his sustenance."
God and religion is a matter of belief. It is beyond decibel-driven debates, as such. By their nature, beliefs are generally not questioned and should not be questioned. That is why people are often naïve about their beliefs. We live in an environment bound by stigmas and dogmas. Ideologically tenuous tenets are often invoked, whenever it is expedient. ‘Nature’ (God) could create amoeba to Obama; groundwater to galaxies, etc. What can we do? Can we create a blade of grass, let alone the Himalayas ? It is a cosmic, spiritual sense that there is a God in every grain.
SCIENCE & GOD
The rationalism of science, unfettered by the weight of tradition, self-consciously denies existence of a non-material phenomenon like God and spiritualism. In the ‘pre-science era’ almost everybody was a believer and used to carry out rites and rituals, including ‘Sati’, wholeheartedly with full devotion. There was no question of a debate over the existence of God or rationale of rituals. In the present ‘science era’ the old spirit of unqualified surrender to God is vanishing, and rituals are performed mostly perfunctorily out of social compulsions and half-hearted belief, and mostly for a material gain. And as the handed-down ‘principles of devotion to God’ are getting diluted by science from generation to generation, the true spirit of belief is weakened and the essence of rituals forgotten. A new generation of pseudo-atheists has arrived. But the idea of god has proved to be very resilient, though it manifested in many forms, meaning differently to different sects. And the meaning is 'omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent' to all believers.
Yet, as science fails to control or programme life, death, natural and biological events, peace, prosperity, happiness, emotions, human relationships, etc. people are constrained to believe that there is some superhuman power or God or whatever that creates and controls everything. And rituals are inseparably associated with that. Science can’t explain why the events in life happen though it may reason out to some extent as to how they happen. It may say that Abdul Kalam died of 'heart attack' but it can't say why it didn't occur long before or after his lecture. It may explain how wood floats, stones sink or how planes fly. The quantum leaps in knowledge cannot answer the niggling and nettlesome issues concerning uncertainties of life and the darkness of death. Problems may or may not be caused by god, but they sustain faith as there is no easy solution for the problems. While science and logical thinking continue to erode faith in God, unexplainable happenings in life shore up the faith. People look for succour, solace and comfort in religion and God because they find the moral coherence that science and reason cannot provide. We live on hope. That is why we set the alarm clock to wake us up tomorrow morning though we are not sure that we would still be here in this world when the alarm rings.
In this context, it may be interesting to read the following excerpt from one of the letters of Albert Einstein, the Nobel Laureate:
January 24, 1936
“ .. Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish. However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science. .. “
WHO CREATED WHOM ?
Some said that the universe and phenomena just exist without being created by any power. God has a meaning only to human mind as other forms of life such as animals, birds, plants and trees have no developed thinking faculty. Man’s thinking is essentially defined by rationality and reason. But as the human life is not ruled by reason alone and as no science and logic can say when and how one dies, or what happens to one in the future or even the next moment, one resorts to the idea of ‘chance’ or ‘god’. It is said that god, religion and rituals have evolved from a need – which is rooted in fear – to atone wrong acts, to appease the gods for favours and fortunes, to give up what is a pleasurable sin, to control instinctual impulses which are experienced as dangerous, to purify what is impure within oneself, and to be benefitted materially, spiritually and psychologically. They say that the controlling element in religion and rituals weaken rather than strengthen one, establishing a kind of stranglehold on one’s thoughts and actions.
The uncertainties and vicissitudes in life make the human mind ‘sustain’ god, religion, faith, belief and the bliss of supernatural justice. This unpredictability promotes cognition of God, a belief in miracle and a hope rested in the element of chance. Belief persists even when good goings go kaput. When one loses a limb in an accident, he thanks the Almighty for saving his life. He doesn’t blame God for the loss of the limb. Thus he sustains God. One scholar on this subject said that it is the human being who has created the idea of god to harmonise the contradictions of life and to provide solace and comfort that the rest of the world can’t provide when adversity strikes. It is the quality and quantity of life which is the nucleus.
MAN-MADE TEMPLES & RITUALS
Evolution of man and god itself is a fascinating subject. Man (Homo sapiens) has been existent for the last three-lakh odd years on this planet. We don't know whether the other long-extinct homo species like Neanderthals or Denisovans had their gods and religions. Whatever it is, the age of man and the god as known to the man must be only around three lakh years. And the age of religions and temples may be of only a few thousand years. It may be a little more if other extinct homo species like Neanderthals or Denisovans had their share of gods and divine myths. In the process of evolution, many religions might have died, taking their gods to their graves. And new religions might have evolved. What's the age of this planet Earth ? About 4.54 billion years ! The earth has been moving on, not caring two hoots about the "recent" introduction of man and religion. It is oblivious to the existence or extinction of man-made religions, rituals and temples.
In fact, there were no temples in the ‘Vedic ages’ (c.1500 -- c.500 ... about 10 centuries BCE -- around just 3,000 years ago) and they came into existence in the time of ‘Puranas’. At that point of time various religious groups started establishing their own views on religion in their own and other regions. Different geographical localisation of population across the world might have led to evolution of different faiths, rituals and religions. It is known that some evidence of the earliest temples (350 to 250 BC) was found at Nagari near Chittoor (AP) dedicated to ‘Sankarshana’ and ‘Vasudeva’. Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and others vied with one another in building large temples, creating images of god and endowing them with their own rituals and customs. Simultaneously elaborate Agama literature emerged. Temples follow their own customs. In some temples restrictions are there for entry of women. The latest episode (November 2015) of a woman worshipping the idol at the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra caused a furore (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/dabholkar-fought-gender-bias-in-temples/article7931248.ece ). Later through an order of the Supreme Court, the custom of denying entry of women beyond a boundary in the temple was buried. And “activists” are on the prowl to get such a “reform” in some other temples too.
The great existentialist philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre said:
“Human existence is the pivot around which all customs, conventions, traditions and above all, God and religion revolve.”
THEISTS AND ATHEISTS
Theists:
We live in a society where God is considered a form of life and any insult to the image is termed as sacrilege. Some may think that it is blasphemous and heretical to debate on God or even to mention anything in a lighter vein about faith. Irreligion is said to be born out of ignorance, prejudice, conceit, intolerance or egoism. It is widely believed that everything is created and controlled by God which is the basis for theism. Theists believe that God helps those who have faith in Him. If something bad happens to them they attribute it to the wrong they did in the previous janma (birth). Even if they lose a limb in an accident they believe that they had a providential escape from death. Thus the faith is sustained though they suffer from various disasters in their lifetime. When logic and science cannot explain for everything that is happening, one naturally tends to be a theist, enduring problems with equanimity and doing all the rituals to mitigate negative experiences. They accept karmic situations and attribute adversities to karma which defines them according to what bad they did in the previous janma (birth).
They believe that "A MIND ALL LOGIC IS LIKE A KNIFE ALL BLADE; IT MAKES THE HAND BLEED THAT USES IT."
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| This is how atheists think |
And, on the other hand, some like‘Periyar’ E.V.Ramasamy hit images of gods with footwear and burnt pictures of gods in public places. Participating in a function to commemorate the 133rd birth anniversary of ‘Periyar’, the Vice-Chancellor of Salem Periyar University said: “Periyar, a South Asian Socrates, lashed out at the meaningless rituals and belief systems that curbed the activities and growth of the masses, and he must be considered for Nobel Prize for his sweeping social reforms” (The Hindu, September 20, 2011).
Atheists question the holiness of the presence of some sculptures and figures fixed on some temples which may appear as obscene and pornographic. And they critically comment on the divinity of gods having more than one wife, or having sacred relationship with 16,000 women.
Atheists think that they are outside the “smoky, suffocating, spooky, soul-destroying, yet strangely mesmeric space of gods and demons and prophets” ( http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/faith-and-families-the-name-game-continues/article5590885.ece ).
“All power is within you; you can do anything and everything.”
-- Swami Vivekananda
UNCERTAINTIES MAKE BELIEVERS
Human beings mostly require the crutches of God and religion to hobble through life which is full of uncertainties and vicissitudes. Rich or poor, prince or pauper, ghettoised or free, the man is vulnerable. It is not known how and when exactly one’s life comes to an end. The health and death apart, we face uncertainties in almost everything. God may be non-existent, religion may be meaningless, and rituals may be idiotic, but the uncertainties in life make almost everyone a believer. For almost all the people (including aristocrats, Presidents of the nations, VIPs, et al ) life is not a bed of roses; they have their own problems; they need the crutch of religion and god to hobble through life.
For example, the uncertainty in the most scientific certainty of launching a satellite is revealing. The Indian Space Research Organisation's GSLV-F06 carrying the communication satellite GSAT-5P plunged into the sea seconds after lift-off from Sriharikota on Dec. 25, 2010. If the highly rational scientists at the Space Centre prayed to God and looked for auspicious time to launch the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, it is due to this uncertainty. I remember somebody pointing out, in the 'Letters to the editor' columns, about the incongruity of praying to God while trying to explore the God's galaxies. Even the ‘modern scientific man’ is persecuted by his own fears and delusions.
There were no abnormal factors; no distress calls; no signals indicating an emergency. The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 (flight MH 370) with 239 passengers disappeared between Malaysia and Vietnam on March 8, 2014 and it could not be traced. It is believed to have crashed in deep remote sea far off Western Australia killing all. On December 17, 1997, the SilkAir M 1185 aircraft went into a near vertical dive before crashing into the bottom of the Musi river in Indonesia which was determined to be a case of pilot suicide. The Air France flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009 and the Asiana Airlines plane crashed in San Francisco on July 6, 2013. The Airbus A320 of Germany’s Lufthansa airlines crashed in a remote area of the French Alps killing all the 150 on board on March 24, 2015. All the passengers in each aircraft died on the same day. Rationalists ask: “Did they all do the same ‘karma’ in the previous ‘janma’ at the same moment, and do they all have identical horoscopes and astrological predictions about their death ?”
Some lose a limb or life even while undergoing good treatment. Rituparno Ghosh, aged 49, a legendary Bengali filmmaker who won 12 national awards and some international awards died on May 30, 2013 due to health problems, despite the high-tech medical care. The leg of Mrs. Kaanjee (pseudonym) was to be amputated a few days after she became a mother 17 years after getting married. A young, healthy and affluent married woman who has everything in her life except a child lost her life shortly after a minor surgical procedure to enable her to have a ‘Test-tube Baby’.
A chief minister got admitted into a top-notch hospital in a not-very-serious condition. After a couple of months of intensive care, she was declared by the hospital to be fit to go home. And there was a bad turn of events, and she lost her life on the 75th day of hospital stay.
A chief minister got admitted into a top-notch hospital in a not-very-serious condition. After a couple of months of intensive care, she was declared by the hospital to be fit to go home. And there was a bad turn of events, and she lost her life on the 75th day of hospital stay.
No, he was not participating in dangerous sports such as ‘heli skiing’, ‘scuba diving’ or ‘bull riding’. Phil Hughes, the ace Australian batsman (twin centuries in South Africa in Test cricket at the age of 20) was playing a first-class Sheffield Shield cricket match in Sydney when he had a hit on the head by a bouncer on November 25, 2014. Despite prompt and best efforts by medical and surgical teams he died 2 days later and 3 days before his 26th birthday. Notwithstanding the modern space age protective gear the cricket ball bounced him out of this world. How to come to terms with the freakishness of it all. Divine call.
And who imagined that about 20 people would die and several hundreds would have taken ill in Germany due to consumption of cucumbers from Spain which carried highly drug-resistant E.coli germs (The Hindu, Vol.134, No.129, 2011) ? And there is the news (TNSE, July 24, 2011) that three patients in Intensive Medical Care Unit died, not due to their diseases, but due to dense smoke from fire that broke out due to the malfunctioning of an air conditioner in a ward of Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, Chennai city! God’s will, no? Let us pray ! And how about those 89 people who died in a seven storey Kolkata hospital (Advanced Medical Research Institute Hospitals) on December 9, 2011 due to a fire accident? What an uncertainty in life !!
And science fails to explain why such of these events occur. It can't predict or prevent the episodes with certainty. And as it can't control or programme life, death, natural disasters, biological events, peace, prosperity, happiness, emotions, human relations, etc., one is constrained to believe that there is some superhuman power or God or whatever that creates and controls everything. So one believes .. one has been believing from olden days to the present days .. the durability and sustainability of the belief is an indication that it had been beneficial .. read on ..
BENEFITS OF FAITH
BENEFITS OF FAITH
There may be two kinds of benefits related to God.
One is about what God is believed to give or take away or absolve, and the metaphysical benefits and spirituality leading to peace and happiness, and the benefits of elevation to a higher eternal level leaving down all the mundane attachments in the materialistic world. These are to be discussed at a different platform and plane by knowledgeable persons. I am not competent to comment on this aspect. I am therefore not going to write about this aspect here. Endless debate has been going on by atheists and theists -- whose debate, of course, may obfuscate people than enlighten them. Rhetorical flourishes confuse the common man who looks for grounded interventions and realities. As it seems, one thing may be infinite in the temporal realm of the rationalist and the believer -- the search for irrefutable evidence about God. People may have divided opinions on this, to which, of course, they are perfectly entitled. But the very fact that faith in the spiritual benefits is sustained from the ages of medieval man to modern man lends credence to the power and divinity of god. It is unquestionable from this point of view.
One is about what God is believed to give or take away or absolve, and the metaphysical benefits and spirituality leading to peace and happiness, and the benefits of elevation to a higher eternal level leaving down all the mundane attachments in the materialistic world. These are to be discussed at a different platform and plane by knowledgeable persons. I am not competent to comment on this aspect. I am therefore not going to write about this aspect here. Endless debate has been going on by atheists and theists -- whose debate, of course, may obfuscate people than enlighten them. Rhetorical flourishes confuse the common man who looks for grounded interventions and realities. As it seems, one thing may be infinite in the temporal realm of the rationalist and the believer -- the search for irrefutable evidence about God. People may have divided opinions on this, to which, of course, they are perfectly entitled. But the very fact that faith in the spiritual benefits is sustained from the ages of medieval man to modern man lends credence to the power and divinity of god. It is unquestionable from this point of view.
The other one is what man gets by himself (not by god) indirectly through faith in God. There are again two kinds of benefits in this category.
Firstly, to have faith in god and to be ‘god-fearing’ is very good for the society in general as it deters one from doing bad to others. A god-fearing man is certainly less dangerous to the society (inter-religious animosity is a different matter). The fear that god punishes for wrong doings would effectively (certainly more effective than law) curb immorality, permissiveness, crime and bad deeds. And the belief that God blesses those who do good to others promotes good deeds by people and it limits one’s thinking and acting to what has moral sanction and social acceptability. It would be a great benefit to the humanity if the belief serves the purpose of humbling the crooked man and fuelling love for fellow creatures – be it human, animal or plant. Thus a ‘help ever; hurt never’ attitude gets established. Believing in karma theory is also beneficial to the society as they do good things in this birth to reap the benefits in the next birth.
Hence it is definitely good for the society if people have faith in God and believe that God helps those who are good at heart, in talk and in deed – Manasa, Vaacha, Karmana -- and punishes those who are bad.
Secondly, for believers, prayers or rituals are very beneficial by -- (1) inculcating positive thinking and promoting self-confidence which contribute in turn to positive results; (2) psychologically strengthening to cope with adversities. Religion and rituals are like pain-killers. Believers fall back more and more upon them and the god while going through a rough time. It would be easier to shrug off gloom and start living getting over the formidable vicissitudes in day to day life.
It is said: “Think positively and act confidently – you will succeed.” Naturally, faith helps in this. Psychology plays a great role in success. This is how blind faith helps. It produces better results or solace, be it for a harried or contented one; a troubled or a sated one. Confidence is a great power within oneself which can convert “Can I ?” into “I Can.” Perhaps, in the same way, belief in vastu, astrology, numerology, palmistry, etc. may also boost self-confidence and positive thinking. Positive thinking is a mental and emotional attitude that focuses on the brighter side of life which makes one to anticipate happiness, good health and success in life. Positivism is contagious. It encourages and enthuses people around to come out of their torpidity and become a part of the great cosmos. If one is determined not to be fazed, one can’t be perturbed by anything. “Drink life to the lees,” in the words of Lord Tennyson in Ulysses. Be one with a ‘never-say-die’ attitude and approach to life. And, in the words of Albert Camus,“There’s no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” Life is a challenge. Fight to live it well. But, one is bound to fail, if one has negative and nebulous perceptions.
Those who have blind faith have the psychological advantage of taking things as they come – good or bad - without remorse, as they believe that god has ordained them to have it that way. It is psychologically therapeutic. Take the case of loss of a beloved one due to illness. The believer believes that God had taken away the life for some good reason, and soon recovers from the grief. The non-believer may go on worrying for the rest of the life that something should have been done to prevent or cure the illness.
CUSTOMS and TRADITIONS
Customs, traditions and the society have also a close link to religion and god. As most people are believers, they believe in customs and traditions too. Here also the belief comes as a benefit in times of adversity. For example, take the case of a non-traditional intercommunity marriage breaking up. Relatives and people blame the couple. If the same breakdown occurs in a traditionally arranged marriage, they all come in to console and support the separated individuals and accept the reality as the wish of the God. And, take, for example, the age-old practice of matching 'Jatakams' (astrological profiles) before fixing up a marriage. Most of the prospective brides and bridegrooms have flaws -- may be physical, economic, medical, moral, cultural, educational, and so on. When 'Jatakams' match, all these flaws are ignored as insignificant. One benefit in this is that many who can't get married due to the flaws get a lasting and loving partner in life. Blind faith works well.
As all this works purely on a psychological basis, totally unconnected with god’s will, even atheists and deists would agree that faith in god (or for that matter in anything or anyone including a tree, an animal, a stone, superstition, a guru or a godman) bestows this benefit, irrespective of spiritual benefits.
And rituals are inseparably associated with god and religion. Even ‘Rahukalam’ and ‘yamagandam’. While science and logical thinking continue to erode faith in god, unexplainable happenings in life shore up the faith. The uncertainties also bring in soothsayers, astrologers, vastu specialists, numerologists, palmists, prophets, god-men etc. who may have their own wisdom / logic / science which is often linked to planets, universe, religion and god. We can’t dismiss them off entirely as bogus and unreliable. Read the interesting article http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/thatcher-chandraswami-and-i/article4595546.ece and my ‘scribbling’ titled "GOD-MEN and SWAMIS.” Some of the forecasts may be as ambiguous as the Delphic oracle was said to be. In the process, we tend to grope for occult science to divine elements for what is to come -- from stars and crystal balls to tea leaves ! As science and logic cannot explain for everything happening, one tends to embrace these alternatives which may even be beneficial by building self-confidence and positive thinking as per the logic mentioned below.
“Whether there is God or not, whether there is afterlife or not, religious faith and rituals are of immense practical value, for they meet an important psychological need of man, by tucking him snug into a cocoon of certainties in a world where everything seems uncertain and incomprehensible. Religion explains what life is all about, tells us how to live, and what to expect after life. Perhaps, it is all just a myth, but not valueless for that reason. It is psychologically therapeutic.” Personified gods and rituals have utilitarian value and were perhaps generated to mould moral behaviour and to promote virtuous life of good deeds. Unless a conscious link with god is forged, man naturally slips into selfishness, greed, ego, arrogance, anger, competition, comparison, miserliness, vanity and vengeance.
FUTILITY or UTILITY OF FAITH
Of course, what is written above under the heading “BENEFITS OF FAITH”may not be applicable to those who have 100 per cent confidence and conviction in their own capacity to deal with anything without the help of God. They may be called non-believers / rationalists / atheists. Read what is mentioned above under the headings “WHO CREATED WHOM ?” and “THEISTS AND ATHEISTS” to have a look into the flipside.
Belief has a great influence on what we sense and do. We see ‘good’ in ‘bad’ and ‘bad’ in ‘good’. Is the glass 'half full' or 'half empty' ? In a scientific study, it was found that meat from the same source tasted differently to the same person when he was served with two portions of the same meat labelled differently of the source. That is belief. Lisa Feldman Barrett, the researcher, said: “We call this ‘affective realism’ -- the tendency of your feelings to influence the actual content of your perceptual experience.”
US President Barack Obama, whose father was a Kenyan and mother a white woman, is said to have found a benefit from some small totems. It is reported that he carries in his pocket a statuette of Lord Hanuman, rosary beads given to him by Pope Francis, a tiny Buddha statue given to him by a monk, a Coptic cross from Ethiopia and a silver poker chip as lucky charms and seeks inspiration from them whenever he feels tired or discouraged. Is it a superstition ? “I carry these around all the time. I’m not that superstitious, so it’s not like I think I necessarily have to have them on me at all times,” Obama said (January 2016 http://www.financialexpress.com/article/world-news/hanuman-figurine-is-barack-obamas-lucky-charm/195904/ ).
As Mr. Steve Jobs, the iconic giant of the APPLE (Apple Computers) told Stanford University graduates in the 2005 commencement address: “ ... You have to trust in something --- your gut, destiny, life, karma, god, whatever ...”
DILUTION OF DEVOTION
In good old days, people used to be more sincere and staunch in devotion. When materialistic modernity struck the society and science started ‘enlightening’ the human mind, people became a tad ambivalent. Many people perform all the rituals expected of them, not because they have faith in any God, but because they feel duty bound to carry out the wishes of their parents, relatives or the society. They tread the fine line between faith and agnosticism. When parents do not follow the rigid rules of worship and grow their children sans indulgent reverence for handed-down wisdom, the children will have no serious thoughts about god. Devotion gets diluted and the rituals become just perfunctory. When materialism overtakes spiritualism, few go into the depths of devotion; most brush by on the surface of it. The true devotee population has dwindled. Materialism is submerging spiritualism. Just as in business, some offer a percentage of their rightfully or wrongfully earned profits to the gods. Once this trend crosses a limit, people would lose faith in religion and God. There is an urgent need to purge the divine arena of materialistic interests if worship is to be meaningful, spiritual and selfless.
Nowadays, seeking blessing for materialistic gain seems to be the main motivating force behind the perfunctory prayers, rituals and visits to places of worship, in general.
It is said that man, whether in the palace or pad, castle or cottage is governed by the same passions and emotions, basically SELFISHNESS and GREED.
SELFISH DEVOTION
I do not wish to hurt the sentiments of anybody, but the stark realities should make us doubt the sincerity of devotion of most of the people who do perfunctory rituals to the images of God for favours or out of fear or for social compulsions, with the body present inside the place of worship and the mind wandering outside in the materialistic world, thus reducing the rituals to a nonsensical farce. Some even chat on their mobile phones while inside temples and while doing puja. I had seen even pujaris (priests) doing that. Many participate in religious activities just for the sake of the society and elders in the family. Quite a few exhibit symbols of religion on their foreheads more to show off their belief. Some “staunch devotees” of God scale down drastically their devotional activities after achieving their goals – passing examinations, getting jobs, getting married, acquiring assets, etc. I know of some who became casual with religious rituals as they started earning a lot and then, when they suffered losses, suddenly and frantically went around temples with a great show of devotion. How many people would think of God if they don't have any problems ? Generally, the more the problems one has, the more one becomes “devoted” to (rather dependent on) God. The tragedy though is that this devotion is dictated by crisis, not good sense. Of course, a few, out of desperation, may even reject the Almighty. How many people do puja or go to places of worship with selfless and true devotion without seeking or expecting favour or absolution from God ? Just as in business, some offer a percentage of their rightfully or wrongfully earned profits to the gods -- brokering with God -- give me something, I will put something in your ‘hundi’! ‘Quid pro quo.’ This is not true devotion. A true devotee doesn't seek anything material.
In these days of increasing materialism, many human beings seriously pray to god and think of ‘abhishekams’, ‘homams’ 'pujas', and 'yagnas’ only when they land in problems or when they need some favours. For example, some students, a while before examinations, give up pizza, coke and Game of Thrones, and embrace puja, kumkum and Geeta Chapter 16 instead, with a promise to offer something to god if he gets a good result ! Their 'modern scientific' thinking gets numbed by the anaesthesia of faith. Modern divinity ! And as most humans have problems or ambitions there are not many atheists. As such, most of the people hobble through life of uncertainties with the crutches of religion and rituals.
No doubt, there are immensely spiritual devotees who are pure and unselfish in worshipping. But they are few and far between, these days.
"Gods' priority is to favour those who do not seek favours and those who help people without expectations." -- T. Rama Prasad.
EROSION OF SANCTITY
Last month, there was the news of the availability of ‘e-archak’ to conduct ‘puja’at home through ‘on-line’ and computers. Soon, we may do ‘pujas’ over our laptops with ‘virtual pujaries’! Management of a famous temple is mulling the idea of including the option of ‘e-hundi’ while booking Rs.300 special entry darshan tickets online (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/ttd-set-to-unveil-ehundi-facility/article7852812.ece ).
The depth of degradation of the sanctity of devotion is revealed by the news that seven priests (Vrata Purohits) at the Sree Veera Venkata Satyanarayanaswamy Devasthanam (A.P.) were suspended from the ‘service’ for non-adherence to the code of conduct (The Hindu, Dec. 9, 1998). And now there is the news (The Hindu, Nov. 4, 2012) that “reacting sharply to the rising trend of ‘archakas’ (priests in the Hindu temples) donning modern dress, the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department has issued a stern note to them to stick to the traditional dhoti and sika (tuft) as per the ‘agama’ tenets of respective temples while performing puja.” In some other temples some priests went on strike ! Sosale Vysaraja Mutt (Karnataka) seer was arrested on October 24, 2015 on charges of selling a silver chariot and pledging gold plates of the mutt.
Pants and shirts attire is prohibited in some temples. But one is permitted if the dress is just covered with a piece of cloth, forgetting that it is the spirit behind the temple regulation that is to be respected.
The nation was shocked to know of the arrest and the legal proceedings against one of India’s top religious leaders, Kanchi Acharya, Jayendra Saraswati for alleged involvement in the murder of Mr. Sankararaman (Sept.3, 2004). It makes one think that religious heads/godmen/gurus are just as human ! But nearly a decade later (Nov. 27, 2013), we have the sensational news that the Acharya is acquitted by the Principal Sessions Court. Eighty three witnesses turned hostile in nine long years of trial. S. Gurumurthy, a well-known commentator on political and economic issues wrote: “ …the mutt and the Acharya were being hounded without basis and the case itself was groundless. The Sankaracharya case verdict is a lesson for all – the police, state, media and the liberals – every one of them sided with the police and against the Acharya. Will they now introspect ?” (TNIE, Nov. 28, 2013; http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Recalling-the-Kanchi-Sankaracharya-Case/2013/11/28/article1915161.ece) . He wrote that the Dravidian ideologues and parties, secular media megaphones, police and even liberal intellectuals created vicious atmosphere to desecrate, defame and discredit the Acharya and the Mutt.
Then, who killed Sankararaman ? And why ? These questions remain unanswered.
COMMERCIALISATION OF GOD
Commercialisation seems to have crept even into the sacred places of worship. Conspicuous and vulgar display, on huge boards, of price lists for various ‘Archanas, ‘Darshans’ and ‘Sevas’ greet us mostly when we enter a temple in India with the sanctity of the deity relegated to the background. The price of some of these is beyond the reach of the common man. Perhaps, it is part of social evolution that some temples seem to have gone commercial the way the noble medical profession is also alleged to have gone. Corruption made its presence; brokers for VIP ‘darshans’, ‘pujas’sprung up; pomp and pageantry added. Spirituality, at its core, is spartan. But, nowadays, we witness appurtenances of organised marketing in the holy field. This is a superficial manifestation of a deeper malaise. If seen from a close and critical point of view, the rites, rituals, procedures and practices reveal some materialistic composition and vested interests of cynical entrepreneurs.
I was flabbergasted to know that bookings for the Rs.25,000 ‘Udayasthama pooja’ at a famous temple were made, up to the next 35 years in 1998 itself (and up to the next 50 years in 2014) and that a case regarding alleged out-of-turn allotment of the ‘pooja’ in 1991 was pending in court (TNIE, July 7, 1998). This reminds me of the fact that all the 245 rooms in the Wardorf=Astoria hotel in the US are booked for New Year’s Days until 2054 ! Rich people go to five-star hotels. Poorer sections go to small hotels. A poor villager goes to a small idol underneath a tree in his village. A rich person goes to a far away huge temple covered with gold coverings inside which is an idol with a myriad diamond studded ornaments. There is a star-rating in devotion arena also, categorising the power and richness of gods.
A visit to a famous temple in Karnataka made me aware of a well-oiled system of bribing, right in front of the presiding deity, to jump even the ‘special darshan’ queue to have a more ‘quick and close’ darshan. In a novel protest, one organisation collected one lakh signatures in Tirupur to demand ending the practice of collecting fees for ‘special darshan’ of deities in temples which they said it amounts to discriminating the poor (The Hindu, Apr. 16, 2012).
I fondly remember the striking poetry written on the ‘Diwali’ day of 1989 by Mr. Jothimurugan, T.S., a thinker and philosopher, which starts with:
“I started for the temple of fame,
From a distance saw crowd,
Bribing their way, a shame !”
The full text of the poem will be uploaded on to this blog.
On July 5, 2011, I visitedSri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple in Singapore which provided a contrast – no disharmonious boards of price lists of various ‘Darshans,’ ‘Sevas,’ and ‘Pujas’ like the ones which greet us in most of our temples; clean, quiet and beautiful ambience conducive for spiritual thoughts; and no cobwebs, dirt, dust and commercial colour -- a contrast from what is seen and felt in many of our temples in India. And add the feeling that the filth, bad manners, utter lack of civic sense, bad roads, non-existent drainage, corrupt government offices, an ancient power grid, flies, mosquitoes and a thousand others are not there around !
Back at home, of course, there are some temples which are excellent. One of them near our place is the “Then Tirupathi” near ‘Ooty Mettupalayam’ which I visited recently. It is a very neatly maintained temple in a quiet expansive estate with paths winding through gardens. Wheel chairs provided. No hundi. No breaking of coconuts. No offerings like fruits, flowers, etc. No pollution. No money making darshans, abhishekams, sevasand rituals. Excellent hospitality by the staff -- a greying and graceful gentlemen spoke to us kindly and guided us, unsolicitedly. Good food is served in clean stainless steel plates, free of cost to all the visitors. Tranquil atmosphere for true devotion and spiritual elevation.
I visited one of the 20,000 temples in Bali (Indonesia) where the garden ambience around their characteristic temple structures is more dominant, with no commercial colour anywhere. 83 per cent of the Bali population adhere to Balinese Hinduism which has roots in Indian Hinduism. Balinese Hinduism is an amalgam in which gods and demigods are worshipped together with Buddhist heroes, the spirits of ancestors, indigenous agricultural deities and sacred places. Religion as it is practised in Bali is a composite belief system that embraces not only theology, philosophy, and mythology, but ancestor worship, animism and magic.
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| Handicrafts shop in Bali (Indonesia)-- 2014 |
How old is 'Ramayana' ? Perhaps, 12,000 years. How old is the population in the Indian subcontinent ? Perhaps, 60,000 years. Can we trace these people to what was written in Ramayana ? Is 'Ramayana' real or myth ? Read in the article in the photo below.
RELIGIOUS RITUALS
People, in general, respect rituals and superstitions in the belief of earning brownie points for this life and the next. If we look beyond the parochial boundaries, the rituals we do seem to be meaningless. Rituals die hard, as people regard them as part of religion and God. And they need the crutch of religion to hobble through life which is full of uncertainties. We still witness barbaric religious rituals like piercing pigs with spears until they writhed to death; slashing throats of goats, hens and camels; eating flesh of dead human bodies; walking over live bodies; breaking coconuts on the heads of the devotees (Read “Breaking coconuts on devotees’ heads” – http://erodelawyersena.blogspot.in ) ; etc. And the cruelty inflicted by barbarious rituals of animal sacrifice has societal sanction. Blood-curdling sacrificial ‘slaughtering’ of nearly 5,00,000 animals including water buffaloes, pigs, goats, chickens, rats and pigeons took place at Gadhmai in Nepal on a day despite global appeals against it. “Life is life – whether in a cat, or dog or man,” Aurobndo said. We have to ruminate on this also: “Deliberate cruelty to our defenceless and beautiful little cousins is surely one of the meanest and most detestable vices of which a human being can be guilty of.”
Surprisingly, even in these days human sacrifices are being made. In July 2015, in a case of human sacrifice in Nepal Jivan Kohar, a 10-year-old boy was taken to a temple and after religious rituals were performed he was held down by three people as another slit his throat (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/27/asia/nepal-human-sacrifice/ ). In India (Jaipur District), a ‘tantrik’ sacrificed Srikant Bag, an eight-year-old boy by slitting his throat and piercing his body with a sharp weapon on February 11, 2010 as an offering to the gods to bring good fortune to the people of the area ( http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Self-styled-Tantrik-Gets-Death-Penalty-in-Human-Sacrifice-Case/2015/08/04/article2957265.ece ). The tantric was awarded a death sentence on August 4, 2015.
Unfortunately, cultures, religious or secular, sanction certain things and we justify various inhuman acts – cruelty, slavery, exploitation of women, forced prostitution, wholesale slaughter of whole species of living beings – all in the name of customs, right, reason, ecology, economics, religious sentiments and yes, god. As somebody said, magic and madness are both the unreasonable
It would be easy for the people to reject obnoxious rituals and hazardous superstitions, if they are made to realise that these rituals are man-made and not ordained by God. Some customs and traditions are relics of the feudal past. Of course, there are scores of rituals to do which are not repulsive and abhorring and which may be immensely beneficial to the believers by boosting their confidence and positive thinking as mentioned above under the heading ‘BENEFITS OF FAITH’. However, true devotion does not require props, images, man-made rituals or even temples.
More than forty years ago, I wrote the following in The Indian Express columns (November 7, 1973) on the ritual of pouring milk into ‘ant-hills’ to feed snakes on ‘Nagula Chavithi’:
“ … This has reference to Mr. R.R. Gandikota's letter captioned "Not a wastage" wherein he says "This pure, bright, lovely, powerful and helpful creature (snake) undoubtedly is an image of God ... If you cannot see God in the snake where else can you see him?"
Which creature is not "pure, bright, lovely" etc.? In "Nature" there is nothing which is not an image of "God". Cannot you see "God" in dog, the man's best friend, for instance? It is a common observation that most of us on one hand worship 'snake' and spare no efforts on the other to kill a snake whenever it is sighted. Is this "Sakarma Bhakthi"? "Sakarma Bhakthi" would be more meaningful if it is done not in a perfunctory way and is extended to all the co-living creatures (not the least, the fellow human beings) which would inculcate a sense of kindness and respect for life. The "Bhavana" which develops in this way would certainly be worth many times that achieved through hypocritic worship.
T. Rama Prasad, Machilipatnam (camp)”
Above all, the biggest concern to the theists must be that all this degradation, commercialism and insensitivity is good fodder for the atheists, and may push the ‘not so devoted’ closer to atheism.
21.09.2022
WHO CREATED THE UNIVERSE ?
Majority of the people in the world believe that there is a ‘power’ (God) -- their God, according to their religion -- which created and runs the universe without much to prove or verify. How can there be several Gods of several religions who can create and run a single common universe ! A minute minority thinks that it is not a single ‘power’, but an ill-understood complex phenomenon like the one which runs the various systems in a living body keeping trillions of cells in sync.
WHAT IS UNIVERSE ?
Nobody for sure knows how the Universe came into existence. The earth might have been formed as an insignificant by-product of a staggering collision between gigantic nebulae, the ‘Big Bang’, nearly 14 billion years ago. But we can’t be sure of the nature of the Universe. It may be geocentric, heliocentric, blackhole-centric or whatever. And much less we know about the “dark matter” which holds and sets the position of planets and stars, and about the possibility of multiple ‘universes’ and other dimensions.
The Universe is a mysterious phenomenon, mostly incomprehensible to the tiny human particle. If agreed that there is a ‘power’, that “Supreme supernatural power” that created the universe (Earth is but a small speck of it – just a fraction of 5% of what we know of the universe; 68% of the universe is ‘dark energy’; 27% is ‘dark matter – http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-iareas/what-is-dark-energy/ ) must be the sameirrespective of the religion or faith one practises or preaches and the number of gods worshipped.
Shri M. Devi Prasad cited the following concept: “It is believed that four fundamental forces a) electromagnetism, b) ‘strong force’, c) ‘weak force’ and d) gravity keep all the matter in cosmos (universe) intact, and that these forces were present even before the formation of universe in the form of a single united force called God -- perhaps, the god particle -- the Higgs Boson which is being searched for. The human being is the infinitesimal speck of the universe living for the briefest of the brief time.”
The ‘GOD PARTICLE’
Eureka ! ‘God particle’ is found ! Today (July 5, 2012) the news made headlines all over the world screaming that a new sub-atomic particle is discovered which is “consistent” with the long-sought Higgs boson – popularly known as the ‘God particle’ – that explains what gives all matter in the Universesize, shape and equilibrium. Interestingly, Peter Higgs, aged 83 years, who theorized that the ‘God particle’ may be the mass-conferring particle in the scientific theory of the creation and maintenance of the Universe, is present yesterday when the announcement ‘confirming’ his theory of 1964 has been made at CERN (Europian Organization for Nuclear Research) at Meyrin near Geneva. At last, the “God Damn Particle” (so called by scientists vexed to find it) is found !
One theory is that the Universe was created by the ‘Big Bang’ nearly 14 billion years ago. The experiment was conducted at the world’s biggest atom smasher, ‘Large Hadron Collider’. The ‘Collider’ is 100 metre deep in the earth; a $10 billion expenditure; and the smash-ups generate temperatures 1,00,000 times hotter than Sun, replicating conditions that occurred just after the Universe’s creation in the ‘Big Bang’. Well, who will conduct research to know how ‘our world’ ended after another ‘Big Bang’ (srishti-sthithi-samhara)!
While the atheists/rationalists went hoarse chanting“It is the ‘God particle’; not the God !”, theists are asking with impish glee: “Who made the ‘God particle’ ? Who caused the ‘Big Bang’ ? It is the God !” When we think, in the larger perspective, of the mighty galaxies beyond the tiny sun, the tiny earth, the tiny humans and the tiny ants, the difference between a theist and an atheist becomes obfuscated.
Perhaps, earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago; first life might have emerged as single-celled bacteria about 3.5 billion years ago; first fish might have evolved in seas about 600 million years ago when there was no plant or animal life on land; plant life might have colonised land about 450 million years ago; amphibians and reptiles might have appeared about 350 million years ago; mammals might have evolved about 200 million years ago; hominids might have evolved from apes about 2.8 million years ago; modern human beings might have emerged just 200,000 years ago ! Is there such an evolution of life on other celestial bodies ? We don't know, but the NASA of the US put up an ad for "Planetary Protection Officer" to defend humans on earth from aliens and other planets. He may be required to go on expedition to other bodies like moon of Jupiter. He must be prepared to the eventuality of a crash-landing. The annual salary is $ 187,000. How is the news !
After all, we are tiny transient particles in the universe living for the briefest of the brief time. We do not know much of this world or the ‘outside world’. We know only a little about the 9 planets, 204 countries, 809 islands, 7 seas and about 7 billion people ! Man thinks too much of himself, though, in fact, he knows nothing more than a bit of the tip of the iceberg.
FAITH and UNFAITH
HEIGHT OF NONCONFORMITY !
ORDER A TOMB BEFORE DYING ! In today’s news paper (TNIE, Aug. 3, 2011) there is an odd news of a nonconformist couple aged 68 and 61 years who built a tomb for themselves with plaques bearing their names embedded on their respective tomb chambers in which their bodies would be laid to rest on their death ! They arranged a ceremony also in advance with invitation cards with a photo of the tomb. The ceremony was followed by a lavish feast for all the relatives and friends. The couple, Nallan and Vellaiammal live in the village Thalaisolai in Yercaud.
CELEBRATE DEATH WITH FEAST !
“Erandaal Biriyani” (Celebrate death with Feast”) is the title of an article in a Tamil Publication (Vaaramalar of Dinamalar,June 10, 2012). It is mentioned that the renowned author, Pattukotai Kalyanasundaram, whose 100th book is published, suggested that death, as a natural event in one’s life, should be celebrated (like the event of birth or marriage) with joy by a feast with ‘biriyani’ (a special food item) and should not be mourned with wailing, sobbing and crying. One couple decided to follow this advice. True to the advice, the husband, Thiru A. Veerappan, on the demise of his wife, celebrated the event and enjoyed the delicious ‘biriyani’ !
I think that if everybody follows this and also gives up the heart-rending perfunctory rituals, the grief in the world which is already heavily burdened with various tensions and tension related morbidity would abate a bit. Natural death is a form of deliverance. One may even just consign the body in an electric crematorium without fuss, publicity and the perfunctory rituals, and move on with the routine life. Habits die hard. Customs die hard. Rituals die hard. Somebody should make a beginning for better ways of doing things.
K.J. YESUDAS -- Hindu or Christian ?
K.J.Yesudas, the Indian classical musician and playback singer, is the pride of nation and the winner of seven National awards (millions of hearts too), forty two State awards with a record of 53,000 songs to his credit. When asked recently as to what he felt about the denial for his entry into the temple of a Hindu God in praise of whom he sang numerous devotional songs, he made the cryptic remark: “I am denied entry into a Hindu temple because I am a Christian, and I am denied entry into a church because I sang devotional songs for a Hindu God !” This shows how parochial our religious thinking is. We should come out of hypocrisy and think outside the box. Sree Narayana Guru’s great message: “One caste, One religion and One God for all humanity” influenced this legendary musician.
Music is divine. “Jagjit Singh is the Mehdi Hassan of India who lent a captivating classical touch to his ghazals so as to arouse the inner soul of all ghazal-loving listeners.” By the by, while writing this, news flashed that the Ghazal King, Mehdi Hassan, aged 84, moved on to heaven while his music moves music lovers eternally. The music legend Lata Mangeshkar said that she found ‘bhagwan (God)’ in his voice.
SHATTER NOT FAITH
In the wake of the January 14, 2011 stampede that killed 102 Sabarimala pilgrims, the Kerala High Court sought to know whether the Makarajyothi was man-made. What if it is man-made ? Most of the temples and idols are man-made. Many of the god-men and even some gods are man-made. The High Court has no business to "establish facts" which may erode faith, unless the faith is detrimental to others or when people are bamboozled. Mr. Justice, are you listening? You cannot term a temple ‘State’ even to compel a temple to invite, through tender notification, contractors/workers professing other faith also (a ruling by the Madras High Court – October 2011).
“God’s own treasure” (a part of which is worth Rs.one lakh crore -- sacks full of diamonds, gold coins and precious stones, a 15 feet long necklace, a Rs.500 crore statue and many more), more than sufficient even to bail out debt-strcken Greece , Portugal and the Euro zone, in “God’s own country ” (Kerala – Sree Padmanabhaswami temple) was dumped by man in 6 underground chambers of the temple centuries ago, out of faith.
In one village, people have gathered to do ‘yajna’ to propitiate ‘God of Rains’ for rains. One boy joined with an umbrella! That is the height of faith!
TO PRAY OR NOT ?
“Helping hands are always better than praying lips.”
I try to see things beyond the insincere, perfunctory, hypocritical, parochial, self-centred and self-deceptive rituals and customs. While I cannot be judgemental on these, I am critical of the hypocrisy and exploitation in the name of God and religion. Perhaps, I grew up with an indulgent irreverence for handed-down wisdom. It is said that one should go to a far higher level of devotion, far above the mundane practices of prayers and rituals, to really realise spirituality and God.
One can infer from what has been mentioned above that faith keeps one in a positive mode. The same is the case with medical treatment. Faith heals. Faith in the doctor heals. Rural patients seem to have more faith in doctors than urbanites. The more we know about a system, the more the doubts we have about it ! The more we try to know about God, the more confused we become. So, have blind faith, or no faith if your mind is strong enough to face any situation on its own. Some people tell me that they regularly pray for me. It may be a lie or a flattery. If people outside your family pray for you, you need not pray. But why do people outside your family pray for you? It is because of your good thoughts and good deeds which make you a good human being, and God will take care of you even if you don’t pray to him because of your goodness. I said “people outside your family” because your family members do it out of relationship, attachment, love, affection or even vested interests, even if you are bad. Selfish interest is something incompatible with true devotion.
In this context, I quote the words from the speech delivered by one senior citizen, Brigadier R. Loganathan, UYSM (Retd), on March 4, 2011, at The Uniquens' Day function of The Unique Academy, Ingur: “Do things as God would like; You would surely be blessed; You need not even pray to Him.” There lies the truth.
“Service to humanity is service to God.”
I may be considered presumptuous when I write on God and god-men. In fact, I had written with trepidation and a certain gumption which might have ruffled the feathers of some believers and non-believers as well. Some might have gained the impression that I am an inveterate non-conformist. In this context, I recall one letter (the letter is on this website) written to me, from the US in 2003, by Prof. Dr. V. Prafulla, MA, PhD (Eng), MA (Hindi), PGDTE, former Professor, Visalakshi College, Udamalpet and former Principal, Erode Arts College for Women, Erode. She is a multi-lingual scholar, a repertoire of knowledge, a powerhouse of literature and a legend. She had cultivated outstanding and delectable nuances and values in literary world – some of her writings are on this website. The following is an excerpt from her letter to me cited above:
“...Your religiosity lies in serving humanity --- Manava Sevaye Madhava Seva. This is not being religious in a narrow sense but being a practitioner of religion – a spiritualist unsullied and unaffected by superstition.....’Who am I ?’ is an introspective million dollar question seldom asked and often postponed or unanswered. Our ancient texts say “Vidya dadathi vinayam, vinayath yathi sampada” --- Education bestows humility and prosperity (not necessarily material). How true it is in your case! May your tribe increase! .....’Who am I ?,’ the introspective and interrogative put at the end (of your book) has philosophical undertones. Man is just a bubble on the ever- flowing and never-ending river of time – signifying man’s insignificance before the immanence of the Almighty! Recognition of this is the pinnacle of knowledge and is also the highest watermark of spiritualism. Being a scientist, you must have been trained to be a rationalist, but ultimately turned out to be a spiritualist. Dr. Radhakrishnan says that science and religion, though seemingly opposing to each other, are basically very similar in seeking the truth. In my opinion, you are neither agnostic nor atheistic, but a confirmed theist seasoned by rationalism…”
--- V. Prafulla
“Aapthopasevi bhaveth aarogyam.”
(Love everyone to be healthy)
I had been caring for the plants in this photograph for a long time. I christened the tall cactus, Ferrocactus ferrerae, as “Sivalinga spiralis / God cactus” as it looks like ‘Sivalingam’ and has spirally oriented ribs, and gave it a divine look by adding ‘pooja’ items like bell, ‘deepam’, incense sticks, etc. You may read more about it under the heading “My lost (last) paradise” on this ‘home page’. -- T. Rama Prasad
THIS IS AN ABRIDGED TEXT OF MY 'SCRIBBLING'. THE FULL TEXT WOULD BE POSTED LATER. -- T. Rama Prasad |
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